So so & sensational in Saudi

 24 hours with 42 Egyptians

Despite his tender years - my great friend Barry has sage wisdom -- like piles of it  -- and as much as I'm loath to admit it, he's usually right when dispensing particularly poignant bits when asked to do so.  And so it was with completely unconcealed skepticism that he said "Saudi Arabia !!!! -- why would you vacation there!!" Please note the foreshadowing .....

I recall making my case for Saudi. The very holy cities of Mecca and Medina for one -- not to mention that the country has just recently opened to foreign tourists making it a really interesting destination. Notwithstanding the obvious Human rights issues, to all these claims of excitement  he said nothing - a sure sign that there were other destinations he'd have chosen first.

So armed with a very expensive visa and a will to explore this "less than ideal" vacation destination, I boarded a midnight bus to travel the 24 hours from Acaba Jordan to Jeddah Saudi Arabia. 

Reaching the Saudi border, a light rain fell eerily well defined by the bright spotlights seemingly everywhere. That and no other "guests" made for a pretty spooky experience. I expected a complicated border crossing but 5 hours of lining up against a wall and questioned over and over about my intentions as dogs sniffed my private parts menacingly was not in the brochure. This was unexpected. 

 

 

 

The only pleasant part was the 42 Egyptian men on their way to Saudi to work. Despite the lack of English - we made fast friends and enjoyed the next 20 hours as we traveled down the coast of Saudi. 

Ostensibly - and my argument to Barry was that by taking the bus for 24 hours - I'd get to "see" what is between these countries. Thoughts of gently swaying palm trees were replaced with the image at the top of the blog. For the record - there is fuck all between these two cities other than ocean, sand, mosques and gas stations. Of interest though -- were the mosques where the 42 Egyptians enthusiastically invited me to join in washing and prayer. I have to say that the comradely we experienced while completely out of my element was both surprising and delightful. I'm crappy at praying but did my best to follow along. They all had a good laugh that lacked malice or contempt. We were actually having fun. For the record - there were MANY stops to pray. That is why it takes 24 hours to get from Acaba to Jeddah!

Jeddah Saudi Arabia

 

 

It's a city without obvious history and no real interest in the outdoors other than the Corniche pictured above. I seemed to be the only person walking anywhere and had a fair amount of trouble crossing the streets with traffic zooming to and fro. I visited the original part of Jeddah but was a bit disappointed to see that it was falling into ruin with no real interest in preserving. Glass, cement and chrome are taking the place of wooden window boxes and corner stores. All 3 museums were closed and didn't look as though they would open anytime soon. However, the F1 track and race was the hot ticket and there was no lack of resources going into that project from what I could see.

 There are plenty of cats enjoying old town Jeddah but I was less enthusiastic. It may have been the cat's meow ... but not mine.

Sensational Medina

 

My goal was to visit both Mecca and Medina (the birth place and final resting places of Muhammad) but learned that both places were forbidden for me even after my attempt at prayer with the Egyptians. 😀. Nuts!! I thought but was determined to see one or the other at the very least. I had recently read that a guy got close to the entrance of Medina so if he could do so - so could I.

 

Not having had nearly enough of buses, I traveled the 6 hours from Jeddah to Medina. It was a beautiful trip through the desert with mountains rising up as we traveled North and east. My mind easily imaging those fateful days as Mohamed led the prophets to Medina. I scanned the mountains and valleys imaging the battles that raged in these early days. So much history and so impactful for civilizations both then and now.

On my third attempt I was able to walk right into Medina!! I'm not sure how that happened but I was glad to be in this amazing place and made the most of it. I sat reflecting inside the mosque - gazed thoughtfully upon the final resting place of Mohamed and finally walked the square capable of accommodating 2 million faithful. Wow!! 

All of this is n a dazzling display of color symmetry and beauty. Green gold and white - clean crisp and inspiring! In the picture above you can see those huge umbrellas that fold into towers at night. A light mist and fans cool the crowd during the day and inspire awe through the night.

Maybe it's not surprising that in a country that recently has opened up to foreigners and restricted access to the rest of the world - there was an aspect of discrimination. I don't think discrimination is funny but chuckled at how I was perceived by some Saudi Nationals on a number of occasions. I haven't had that in my life before and I'm sure if it was for more than a week my good humor would slowly change to contempt and depression of my generous spirit! 

 

At the restaurant pictured below I was asked to eat outside. There was no table for me despite others eating contentedly and looking on. On another occasion - the Uber taxi sped off once he saw that I was a foreigner. Parents shielded their children's eyes and men gave me hard threatening looks as I did my best to remain cheerful and unaffected. Indeed -- a stranger in a strange land. That all said - the chicken with raisin rice was delicious!!  While in some -- their humanity is lacking - their cooking skills are not. 😁

What do you mean I have to eat outside ???? Fuckers!

In the days that followed I out of Riyadh though not until spending 3 days flat on my back in a shitty hotel trying to recover from a pinched nerve that absolutely leveled me the the next 3 weeks. I promise and pinky swear never to miss my daily yoga again!! I think Bary put a spell on me 😎

In Memory of Max

 

Faster Layno Faster!!!

 

This is my favorite picture of Max taken on one of our trips as we dashed along together for the year and a day we knew one another. Others would say we were inseparable - but I would say that it was far more than that. Somehow our spirits became one over that special year in our lives. His accidental death while tragic and unbelievably sad has left me with lessons about unconditional love and happiness. Lessons about the simple pleasures of a walk - or a falling leaf. The tears still come but they'll end soon and be replaced by memories of our wonderful adventures together. Will Rogers said - "if there are no dogs in heaven - I want to go where they went." Hope to see ya there Max!

Jake, Majengo and Kibera

 

I searched all the pictures from Jake's Christmas celebration but was unable to spot him amongst all those red or blue suits - but there is no mistake that he enjoyed a wonderful Christmas celebration at Le Pic school and had a wonderful year. A big thank you to all who made it possible for Jake to attend school this year. It's an opportunity that many Kenyan children go without.

If you would like to support one of the 3 projects with some cashola - I promise not to spend it on dumb vacations. 😁

The Majengo Kids - The Kibera Kids - or Jake's Education:

1) E-interact -- laynemahon@live.com 

2) Paypal -- laynegmahon@gmail.com

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Thanks for reading ...Layno getting a trim somewhere in the middle east!!!